“ The tower, used by ancients and Christians to symbolize the inaccessible (or virginity when it shelters a maiden), holds the princess and must be climbed by the invading male warrior, and every Freudian can enjoy the symbolism of the battering ram scene (this is, after all, a very entertaining movie).

“ An exciting, rugged, unusual film presented with zest and thoughtfulness.

“ Although full of stupid historical errors and unbelievable events , the film results to be really entertaining and overwhelming .

“ To me, his slowness makes him less humane.

“ Rousing,Fun Adaptation of Novel .

“ With this and the breathtaking scenery of Norway, the film breathes believability.

“ Great action sequences, exciting battles, insights into Viking customs, Frank Thring as a cold blooded villain, a wolf pit, Exact scale long ships and much more make this a classic.

“ The scenery is breathtaking.

“ Script was pretty banal, and drama so florid at times as to be almost camp.

“ Still, I enjoyed it tremendously.

“If you haven't already seen "The Vikings", then you should take the time to do so, because it is an entertaining movie.

“ They have a rousing fight on the castle parapets.

“In 1960, Stanley Kubrick directed celebrated historical classic Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis; two years earlier, Douglas and Curtis had appeared together in another historical adventure, The Vikings, which, as far as I'm concerned, is the superior film—less epic, perhaps, but far more entertaining than Kubrick's movie.

“ The music, though repetitive, is very haunting and will probably become stuck in your brain.

“ I should have known that I was in for it when I heard the musical score which was fit for a Viking-obnoxious and boring to say the least.

“ Another footage well proves the slowness of the character is when the prince Mortagna witnessed Eric and his brother Eignar fighting.

“ "The Vikings" combines exciting adventure with an engaging human drama, and is wonderfully photographed by the famous cinematographer Jack Cardiff against some striking natural scenery, mostly in the Norwegian fjords, although Aella's castle is actually in Brittany and some other locations are in Croatia.

“ The dramatic, if misogynistic, incident where Prince Einar(Kirk Douglas) cuts off, with thrown axes, the pigtails of a women accused of adultery, is(of course) shear historical hokum, if entertaining(especially since we know that the womanizing Prince has been bedding this comely woman.

“ The story is mostly compelling and fun, making the most of a generally coherent theme, and there are thought-provoking parts in the script.

“Douglas, Curtis and Borgnine run away with it all, and Janet Leigh is rather breathtaking.......

“ Somehow, in the confusion, the other Vikings forget to murder Curtis for all his treachery.

“ Vikings behave like Vikings in this entertaining action adventure of brutish Norsemen splitting their time between pillaging and partying.

“ Stunning photography of the Norwegian fjords by Jack Cardiff, only one of the enjoyable features of this action movie.

“The film builds on this to include an illegitimate half-brother and rivalry over a beautiful Welsh princess to create a story of rousing, full-blooded action.

“ The cinematography is superb and the art direction and period detail stunning and remarkably evocative.

“Storywise, then "The Vikings" was entertaining, for sure, but it felt a bit too scripted and predictable.

“TV is an entertaining, visually good cheese-fest of the 50s Technicolor kind.

“ The film represents a pretty tame retelling of the events and a limited understanding of Viking-Age Scandinavian culture, but is still entertaining, and I appreciate the fact that it's rooted in an actual event with some historical significance.

“ "The Vikings" is a very good and entertaining movie, even if it is a big comic book brought to the big screen.

“ More than anything, it brought the world to our doorstep - the boldness of the film and its robust American /English cast bringing the promise of an exciting outside world to our naive English minds.

“ A Right and Enjoyable Rollicking.

“This schoolboy fantasy of a film is filled with action, lusty performances and breathtaking scenery of the Nowegian Fjords.

“ The Vikings is that most delightful of filmsthe formula genre movie that transcends its own limitations and becomes something wonderfully entertaining and unforgettable.

“ Trust me, the film is worth watching just for the scenery alone.

“ However, a great deal of effort was made to achieve accuracy in terms of clothes, villages, ships, weapons etc. The stunning Norwegian locations add to the authenticity, and are breathtakingly photographed in Technirama by master cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

“ It's got a testosterone-fuelled performance from Douglas, Curtis as the dashing hero, Ernest Borgnine as a lovable viking rogue, a marvellous villain (Frank Thring as loathsome King Aella), and Janet Leigh as a beautiful princess, as well as stunning locations, wonderful cinematography, great production values, and, best of all, a huge sense of fun, the action and adventure imbued with humour.

“ The film is truly daring (has some shocking violence) considering it was done (1958) and also is very fascinating unlike other epics were done in it's period.

“ A Big Exciting Comic Book Adventure .

“ Great score,visually stunning.

“ A sword fight on the castle's parapets (I have to admit that this scene was very breathtaking!!!

“So all in all it's a fine and entertaining genre picture that's more fun than dramatic gold, a film that was a childhood fave of many such as myself.

“ Einar's climbing the axes to open Aella's fortress to the last viking raid is a stunning, heart-pounding sequence rarely seen before or after this wonderful movie.

“ Placing it in the context of a 1950s epic adventure, it was quite enjoyable.

“ (The one Kirk smooches with is stunning.

“ The cinematography is very good, the content is a rousing adventure and there are some exceptionally memorable scenes.

“The storming of the castle was rousing fun, with the battering ram dash toward the camera especially striking.

“ This United Artists movie, directed by Richard Fleischer, has breathtaking beauty since it was produced around the fjords and mountains of Norway; in fact, the fjords were very refreshing-looking.

“The story, a Viking prince and a slave fighting over a princess set against some politically charged power struggle between English nobility, wasn't exactly standard stuff, but was both interesting and entertaining.

“ Combines exciting adventure with an engaging human drama .

“ There is a psychic viking witch that very early on reminds us of this fact, when she finds out some stunning things by the mere rolling of a couple of stones.

“ This film is as historically accurate as watching the linoleum curl is exciting.

“ There are some exciting battle sequences and action fans should enjoy the invasion of England by the Vikings.

“ Janet Leigh is especially memorable as the voluptuous temptress, Morgana, whose almost ethereal beauty pits Einar and Eric, already hopelessly at odds, in a battle for her affection, culminating in an exciting fight to the death.

“ That Spartacus is considerably a better film all told is a given, but The Vikings stands up well as an entertaining precursor to the Thracien slave classic.

“ In conclusion, in spite of all the Kirk, "The Vikings" still pack some very enjoyable "wild 50s" charms, such as a fast pace and lots of boyish fighting action.

“ Because the plot is kind of tedious.

“Highlights include Kirk Douglas hopping across the oars of a viking long-ship, the use of throwing axes to prove the innocence of an unfaithful viking woman, Eric's daring escape by boat on a foggy fjord, and the rousing finale, in which Eric and Einar temporarily put their differences aside to storm King Aella's castle.

“ A hugely enjoyable romp.

“ Even with Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and Ernestine Borgnine co-starring, this film is an absolute bore.

“ Rousing 50's classic exposes Kirk Douglas as a lousy actor.

“ In this vaguely pre-medieval semi-epic, a Viking named Einar fights with his half-brother Eric for a frankly uninteresting dame called Janet Leigh - damn!

“A rousing flick.

“ Entertaining even for the ADD generation(s).

“ It is, essentially, a "Scandanavian western" with a lot of exciting action all the way through.

“ The difference is that the story, however silly it may be, keeps moving at a face pace, there is a very solid budget, and the movie is anything but dull - unlike those awful Corman films.

“ Eventually Einar catches up and there is a thrilling siege.

“ Thrilling and evocative musical score by Mario Nascimbene .

“ THE VIKINGS, the most entertaining film of 1958 was also the biggest moneymaker (the film stayed in the top twenty all time moneymakers until 1966.